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Anderson-Carpenter KD. Black Lives Matter Principles as an Africentric Approach to Improving Black American Health. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities 2021; 8:870-878. [PMID: 32789815 PMCID: PMC8285325 DOI: 10.1007/s40615-020-00845-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2020] [Revised: 08/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Although public health has made substantial advances in closing the health disparity gap, Black Americans still experience inequalities and inequities. Several theoretical frameworks have been used to develop public health interventions for Black American health; yet the existing paradigms do not fully account for the ontology, epistemology, or axiology of Black American populations. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement provides a basis for understanding the constructs that may contribute to Black American health. By drawing from the 13 BLM principles, this paper presents an alternative approach for developing, implementing, and evaluating public health interventions for Black populations in the USA. Furthermore, the approach may inform future public health research and policies to reduce health disparities within and across Black populations in the USA.
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Dugassa BF. The Public Health Significance of Religious Imposition: The Experience of Oromo People in Ethiopia. JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND HEALTH 2021; 60:974-998. [PMID: 31919640 DOI: 10.1007/s10943-019-00978-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Knowledge and power are intertwined. To validate their illegitimate colonial occupation, the colonizers have imposed their knowledge-as expressed in such things as religion-upon the colonized people. Religions are instrumental in setting values, moralities and influencing the types of sciences, laws and arts developed. They govern human behavior, inform researchers on the questions they ask and foster certain types of knowledge. Religion also guides policymakers where and on what they need to focus. In this paper using a logic model I investigate (a) the theoretical reasons for imposing religion; (b) whether imposing religion widens people choices in life and produces a healthy body and community or limits people's choices and impacts the development of public health in Oromia. Religious impositions are driven by epistemic racism; they twist the paradigm of the thinking of a society. This constitutes a kind of epistemic violence. Epistemic violence discredits the experience and interests of the Oromo people. It denounces Oromo accumulated wisdom, its institutions, and it constitutes the textbook definition of disempowerment. In many ways, it hinders development of critical thinking and limits people's choices in life. Christianity and Islamic religions have been forcefully and methodically imposed upon the Oromo people. Religious impositions are the seeds that colonizers plant to make the colonized people intellectually dependent on the imposers. The imposition is meant to occupy the mental universe of the people. It twists how people perceive their past and present. Occupying and controlling the mind disguises the exploitation of the human and natural world. The imposition of those religions is responsible for many social problems such as an unjust social hierarchy, intolerance and environmental degradation. To promote health, prevent diseases and reduce health disparities, we need to promote the empowerment of people, validate their knowledge and experiences and widen their choices in life. In the efforts we make in preventing diseases and promoting health, we need to take into account the issue of religious imposition as one of the social forces. We cannot transform the world unless we understand what makes it work.
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Bannister-Tyrrell M, Meiqari L. Qualitative research in epidemiology: theoretical and methodological perspectives. Ann Epidemiol 2020; 49:27-35. [PMID: 32711056 DOI: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2020.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2020] [Revised: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Increasingly, modern epidemiology has adopted complex causal frameworks incorporating individual- and population-level determinants of health. Despite the growing use of qualitative methodologies in public health research generally, discussion of causal reasoning in epidemiology rarely considers evidence derived from qualitative research. This article argues for a coherent role of qualitative research within epidemiology through analysis of the principles of causal reasoning that underlie current debates about causal inference in epidemiology. It introduces two approaches to causal inference by Russo and Williamson (2009) and Reiss (2012) that emphasize the relevance of both the nature of causation and how knowledge is gained about causation in assessing evidence for a causal relation. Both theories have scope for incorporating multiple types of evidence to assess causal claims. We argue that these theories align with the empirical focus of epidemiology and allow for different types of evidence to evaluate causal claims, including evidence originating from qualitative research; such evidence can contribute to a mechanistic understanding of causal relations and to understanding the effects of context on health-related outcomes. Finally, we discuss this approach in light of previous literature on the role of qualitative research in epidemiology and implications for future epidemiologic research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lana Meiqari
- Athena Institute for Research on Innovation and Communication in Health and Life Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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Finding common ground: how the development of theory in public health research can bring us together. SOCIAL THEORY & HEALTH 2019. [DOI: 10.1057/s41285-019-00119-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
AbstractWithin the past few decades, the academic discipline of public health has taken root in universities around the world. As a young and multidisciplinary field with a dual-research/practice focus and a tradition that emphasises method development, the use of theory in public health research has often been neglected. In this article, we argue that explicit utilisation of theory is crucial to further the development of public health as an academic discipline. By examining three core areas of academic activity at universities—education, research and public outreach—we illustrate the role theory plays in establishing public health as an independent research discipline. We discuss the importance and benefits of including theoretical reasoning in teaching, research articles and communication with non-academic audiences. We also highlight the role of postgraduate students and junior researchers who, thanks to a combination of experience and receptiveness, play an important role in developing public health theory. We believe that a key to a successful process of establishing public health as an academic discipline lies in the development of a transdisciplinary approach to the research subject. This will equip public health researchers with appropriate tools to take on the public health challenges of the future.
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Möller A. Disability from a public health perspective. Scand J Public Health 2015; 43:81-4. [DOI: 10.1177/1403494814568601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
At the Nordic School of Public Health (NHV), methods to alleviate problems with disability have been seen as an important part of actions to support public health. A programme for universal design was started in 2006. Some issues of public health perspectives on disability are presented in this paper, based on discussions from a PhD course held at the NHV. During the course, the students presented papers in which they reflected on the relationship between disability and public health. These essays were collected and published in 2012 at NHV.
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Parker L, Rychetnik L, Carter S. Values in breast cancer screening: an empirical study with Australian experts. BMJ Open 2015; 5:e006333. [PMID: 25995235 PMCID: PMC4442211 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2014] [Revised: 03/30/2015] [Accepted: 04/29/2015] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To explore what Australian experts value in breast screening, how these values are conceptualised and prioritised, and how they inform experts' reasoning and judgement about the Australian breast-screening programme. DESIGN Qualitative study based on interviews with experts. PARTICIPANTS 33 experts, including clinicians, programme managers, policymakers, advocates and researchers selected for their recognisable influence in the Australian breast-screening setting. SETTING Australian breast-screening policy, practice and research settings. RESULTS Experts expressed 2 types of values: ethical values (about what was good, important or right) and epistemological values (about how evidence should be created and used). Ethical values included delivering benefit, avoiding harm, promoting autonomy, fairness, cost effectiveness, accountability, professionalism and transparency. Epistemological values informed experts' arguments about prioritising and evaluating evidence methodology, source population and professional interests. Some values were conceptualised differently by experts: for example, delivering benefit could mean reducing breast cancer mortality, reducing all-cause mortality, reducing mortality in younger women, reducing need for aggressive treatment, and/or reassuring women they were cancer free. When values came into conflict, experts prioritised them differently: for example, when experts perceived a conflict between delivering benefits and promoting autonomy, there were differences in which value was prioritised. We explain the complexity of the relationship between held values and experts' overall views on breast cancer screening. CONCLUSIONS Experts' positions in breast screening are influenced by evidence and a wide range of ethical and epistemological values. We conclude that discussions about values should be a regular part of breast-screening review in order to build understanding between those who hold different positions, and provide a mechanism for responding to these differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Parker
- Centre for Values, Ethics and the Law in Medicine (VELiM), Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Lucie Rychetnik
- Auburn Clinical School, School of Medicine Sydney, The University of Notre Dame (Australia), Auburn, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Stacy Carter
- Centre for Values, Ethics and the Law in Medicine (VELiM), Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Bowman B, Stevens G, Eagle G, Matzopoulos R. Bridging risk and enactment: the role of psychology in leading psychosocial research to augment the public health approach to violence in South Africa. SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2014. [DOI: 10.1177/0081246314563948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In the wake of apartheid, many in the South African health and social sciences shifted their orientation to understanding violence. Rather than approaching violence as a criminal problem, post-apartheid scholarship surfaced violence as a threat to national health. This re-orientation was well aligned with a global groundswell that culminated in the World Health Assembly’s 1996 declaration of violence as a public health problem. In response, researchers and other stakeholders have committed to the public health approach to violence in South Africa. Despite some unquestionable successes in applying this approach, violence remains a critical social issue and its recalcitrantly high rates signal that there is still much work to be done. One avenue for more focussed research concerns understanding the mechanisms by which upstream risk factors for violence are translated into actual enactments. We argue that South African psychology is well placed to provide greater resolution to this focus. We begin by providing a brief overview of the public health approach to violence. We then point to three specific areas in which the limits to our understanding of the way that downstream psychological and upstream social risk factors converge in situations of violence, compromise the theoretical and prevention traction promised by this approach and chart several basic psychosocial research coordinates for South African psychology. Steering future studies of violence by these coordinates would go some way to addressing these limits and, in so doing, extend on the substantial gains already yielded by the public health approach to violence in South Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett Bowman
- Department of Psychology, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
| | - Garth Stevens
- Department of Psychology, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
| | - Gillian Eagle
- Department of Psychology, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
| | - Richard Matzopoulos
- Burden of Disease Research Unit, Medical Research Council of South Africa, South Africa
- School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town, South Africa
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Pelletier DL, Porter CM, Aarons GA, Wuehler SE, Neufeld LM. Expanding the frontiers of population nutrition research: new questions, new methods, and new approaches. Adv Nutr 2013; 4:92-114. [PMID: 23319128 PMCID: PMC3648745 DOI: 10.3945/an.112.003160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Nutrition research, ranging from molecular to population levels and all points along this spectrum, is exploring new frontiers as new technologies and societal changes create new possibilities and demands. This paper defines a set of frontiers at the population level that are being created by the increased societal recognition of the importance of nutrition; its connection to urgent health, social, and environmental problems; and the need for effective and sustainable solutions at the population level. The frontiers are defined in terms of why, what, who, and how we study at the population level and the disciplinary foundations for that research. The paper provides illustrations of research along some of these frontiers, an overarching framework for population nutrition research, and access to some of the literature from outside of nutrition that can enhance the intellectual coherence, practical utility, and societal benefit of population nutrition research. The frontiers defined in this paper build on earlier forward-looking efforts by the American Society for Nutrition and extend these efforts in significant ways. The American Society for Nutrition and its members can play pivotal roles in advancing these frontiers by addressing a number of well-recognized challenges associated with transdisciplinary and engaged research.
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Affiliation(s)
- David L Pelletier
- Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
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Can humanization theory contribute to the philosophical debate in public health? Public Health 2012; 126:448-53. [DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2012.01.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2011] [Revised: 11/10/2011] [Accepted: 01/13/2012] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Abstract
As bioethicists increasingly turn their attention to the profession of public health, many candidate frameworks have been proposed, often with an eye toward articulating the values and foundational concepts that distinguish this practice from curative clinical medicine. First, I will argue that while these suggestions for a distinct ethics of public health are promising, they arise from problems within contemporary bioethics that must be taken into account. Without such cognizance of the impetus for public health ethics, we risk developing a set of ethical resources meant exclusively for public health professionals, thereby neglecting implications for curative medical ethics and the practice of bioethics more broadly. Second, I will present reasons for thinking some of the critiques of dominant contemporary bioethics can be met by a virtue ethics approach. I present a virtue ethics response to criticisms that concern (1) increased rigor in bioethics discourse; (2) the ability of normative theory to accommodate context; and (3) explicit attention to the nature of ethical conflict. I conclude that a virtue ethics approach is a viable avenue for further inquiry, one that leads us away from developing ethics of public health in a vacuum and has the potential for overcoming certain pitfalls of contemporary bioethics discourse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen M Meagher
- Department of Philosophy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824-1316, USA.
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Jakusovaite I, Bankauskaite V. Teaching ethics in a masters program in public health in Lithuania. JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ETHICS 2007; 33:423-7. [PMID: 17601872 PMCID: PMC2598141 DOI: 10.1136/jme.2006.017178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2006] [Revised: 07/31/2006] [Accepted: 08/08/2006] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
This article aims to present 10 years of experience of teaching ethics in a Masters Program in Public Health in Lithuania, and to discuss the content, skills, teaching approach and tools of this programme. In addition, the article analyses the links between ethics and law, identifies the challenges of the teaching process and suggests future teaching strategies. The important role of teaching ethics in countries that are in transition owing to a radically changing value system is emphasised.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irayda Jakusovaite
- Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences, Kaunas University of Medicine, Lithuania
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Lübbe A. No public health without public death-ethical considerations. Support Care Cancer 2003; 11:497-500. [PMID: 12827481 DOI: 10.1007/s00520-003-0454-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2002] [Accepted: 01/30/2003] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Lübbe
- Cecilien-Klinik, Lindenstrasse 26, 33175, Bad Lippspringe, Germany.
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Abstract
The last decade has witnessed development of the new field of public health ethics, as well as growing emphasis on the importance of ethics education to both students and graduates of the health care professions. Using a topic-based interpretation of public health ethics this paper presents a questionnaire survey of the nature and content of teaching of public health ethics to medical undergraduates and public health postgraduate students in the United Kingdom. Completed questionnaires were returned by 76.9% (20/26) of medical schools and 76.7% (23/30) of institutions teaching postgraduate public health courses. Public health ethics was described as being taught in 75% of medical schools and 52% of institutions providing postgraduate education. However, in both types of location the content and nature of teaching was patchy and often minimal. If medical schools and postgraduate institutions are serious about improving the discussion and teaching of ethical issues in public health, there will need to be considerable investment and commitment, accompanied by creativity and imagination. In parallel, the debate about the meaning of, and approaches to, public health ethics needs to be broadened and enriched. The topic-based interpretation of public health ethics has limitations. Alternatives are explored and critically reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony S Kessel
- International Programme for Ethics, Public Health and Human Rights, Health Promotion Research Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, WC1E 7HT, London, UK.
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Principles for the justification of public health intervention. Canadian Journal of Public Health 2002. [PMID: 11968179 DOI: 10.1007/bf03404547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 159] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The objective of this paper is to discuss principles relevant to ethical deliberation in public health. METHODS Conceptual analysis and literature review. RESULTS Four principles are identified: The Harm Principle, The Principle of Least Restrictive Means, The Reciprocity Principle, and The Transparency Principle. Two examples of how the principles are applied in practice are provided. INTERPRETATION The paper illustrates how clinical ethics is not an appropriate model for public health ethics and argues that the type of reasoning involved in public health ethics may be at potential variance from that of empirical science. Further research and debate on the appropriate ethics for public health are required.
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Upshur REG. Principles for the justification of public health intervention. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH = REVUE CANADIENNE DE SANTE PUBLIQUE 2002; 93:101-3. [PMID: 11968179 PMCID: PMC6979585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The objective of this paper is to discuss principles relevant to ethical deliberation in public health. METHODS Conceptual analysis and literature review. RESULTS Four principles are identified: The Harm Principle, The Principle of Least Restrictive Means, The Reciprocity Principle, and The Transparency Principle. Two examples of how the principles are applied in practice are provided. INTERPRETATION The paper illustrates how clinical ethics is not an appropriate model for public health ethics and argues that the type of reasoning involved in public health ethics may be at potential variance from that of empirical science. Further research and debate on the appropriate ethics for public health are required.
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Affiliation(s)
- R E G Upshur
- Joint Centre for Bioethics, University of Toronto, Primary Care Research Unit, Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5.
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Lübbe AS. No Public Health without Public Death: Ethical Considerations. PROGRESS IN PALLIATIVE CARE 2002. [DOI: 10.1080/09699260.2002.11746636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Affiliation(s)
- D L Weed
- Office of Preventive Oncology, National Cancer Institute, EPS T-41, 6130 Executive Blvd, Bethesda, MD 20892-7105, USA.
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Weed DL. Methods in epidemiology and public health: does practice match theory? J Epidemiol Community Health 2001; 55:104-10. [PMID: 11154249 PMCID: PMC1731834 DOI: 10.1136/jech.55.2.104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- D L Weed
- Office of Preventive Oncology, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, Executive Plaza South, Suite T-41, 6130 Executive Boulevard MSC 7105, Bethesda, MD 20892-7105, USA.
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Abstract
There is evidence that public health is currently taking centre stage in the challenge to improve the population's health. This represents a change from the 1980s and 1990s where health promotion was the dominant concept among community nurses. Public health means different things to different people and while nurses have a role to play, there is a need to be more precise about their specific contribution. The creation of public health nursing posts across the UK is contribution to this confusion, as there is little emerging consensus as to what professionals in these posts should do. At present, there does not appear to be a dominant strategy or model of working. A preliminary analysis of job advertisements for public health nursing posts indicates a requirement for a 'supercharged' health visitor to work in a specific area to provide a link between the professional and lay communities. The emphasis is on community development with little on population health. Government policy on public health clearly highlights the important role of nurses in contributing to the public health agenda. The current role and function of public health nursing posts may not allow them to be classed as specialist public health nurses/nursing and to provide educational opportunities for nurses to develop the knowledge and skills which will enable them to work alongside medical and other healthcare colleagues in the pursuit of specialist public health practitioner status.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Molloy
- Royal College of Nursing Development Centre, South Bank University, London, UK
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Abstract
Preventing cancer depends on the ability to recognize and remove causal factors. In current practice, the methods used to judge cause from epidemiologic, clinical trials and biologic evidence include systematic narrative reviews, criteria-based inference methods, and meta-analysis. Subjectivity and values play a key role in the practice of causal inference, especially in selecting criteria and assigning rules of evidence to those criteria. Judging cause is a central concern of physicians, epidemiologists, and other public health professionals committed to cancer prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- D L Weed
- Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
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van der Maesen LJ, Nijhuis HG. Continuing the debate on the philosophy of modern public health: social quality as a point of reference. J Epidemiol Community Health 2000; 54:134-42. [PMID: 10715747 PMCID: PMC1731629 DOI: 10.1136/jech.54.2.134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- L J van der Maesen
- SISWO (Netherlands Institute for the Social Sciences), Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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